Canadian woman verbally attacks Sikh politician believing him to be a Muslim.

I don't know how many of you have already had the pleasure of watching this video of Canadian politician Jagmeet Singh demonstrating extreme patience and kindness when confronted with the kind of hatred that might have inspired Mahatma Gandhi to drop a bitch, but I thought it was just too good not to share here.

Courtesy of Global News:

Singh was speaking to supporters at one of his “JagMeet and Greet” outreach events on Wednesday, when he was accosted by a heckler.

“When is your Sharia going to end?” the woman shouted, referring to traditional Islamic law. “We know you’re in bed with the Muslim Brotherhood!” 

As she continued ranting, Singh told the audience, “We don’t want to be intimidated by hate, we don’t want hatred to ruin a positive event… so let’s show people how to treat someone with love. 

“We welcome you. We love you, we support you,” he told the woman, who eventually stormed off.

When asked why he did not simply identify himself as a Sikh, Singh had this to say:  

“Many people have commented that I could have just said I’m not Muslim. In fact many have clarified that I’m actually Sikh. While I’m proud of who I am, I purposely didn’t go down that road because it suggests their hate would be ok if I was Muslim,” he said. 

“We all know it’s not. I didn’t answer the question because my response to Islamophobia has never been ‘I’m not Muslim.’ It has always been and will be that ‘hate is wrong.”

I pride myself on having gained control of my once legendary temper, and of course I would never strike a woman, but damn this lady would have pushed me right to my limits. 

I only hope that by now she has seen this video multiple times and can see just what a hateful, ignorant, despicable human being she really is.

And if she doesn't see it I hope that those around her remind of this incident everyday until she does.

Defending Confederate monuments while shouting the "N" word, must be the South.

White supremacists in New Orleans right now protecting Confederate monuments & calling Black people n**gers (while being protected by cops) pic.twitter.com/G38IXkbPxP

— Tariq Nasheed (@tariqnasheed) May 8, 2017

It is always a challenge to try and defend a racist symbol by being incredibly racist, but these guys seem to be pulling it off.

The great George Takei takes on the anti-gay Tennessee Republicans as only he can.

"Takei pride" I love it!

George Takei really is a national treasure.

Man live tweets from Donald Trump rally in Greensboro, North Carolina and it is terrifying. Update!

Will be live tweeting from Trump's rally in Greensboro tonight. I'm sure it'll be measured and thoughtful.

— Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) June 14, 2016

There's an ungodly amount of extremely drunk people here.

— Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) June 14, 2016

Crowd chanting BUILD THAT WALL BUILD THAT WALL over operatic music.

— Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) June 14, 2016

I don't like Hitler comparisons but that was positively like Nuremburg rally level crazy.

— Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) June 14, 2016

Crowd member just shouted "gays had it coming"

— Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) June 14, 2016

Bragging that he took credentials from WA Post. Crowd yells Kill them all.

— Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) June 14, 2016

Trump says not to hurt protestor, several chant HURT HIM HURT HIM

— Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) June 14, 2016

Calls Elizabeth Warren Pocahontas, says he was asked to apologized, will only apologize to Pocahontas. Guy next to me does a war dance

— Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) June 14, 2016

After the rally, things seemed to get even uglier.

People breaking beer bottles in parking lot, throwing them on ground and at passing cars

— Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) June 15, 2016

Just sitting in parking lot. Everyone passing with these evil little grins. There's so much ugliness. I keep saying it but it's true.

— Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) June 15, 2016

Telling myself they're angry about the economy. About changing technology and industry. But there's so much base-level ugliness.

— Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) June 15, 2016

Cops finally cleared this horror show. Trump has to be defeated but I don't know how you stamp out all this hate and cruelty.

— Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) June 15, 2016

Holy shit!

Oh yeah, Donald Trump most definitely HAS to be stopped!

Update: Here is the article this man wrote about his experiences the next day.

Just a reminder.

We are actually making progress.

However there is still much progress to be made.

Students removed from Trump rally for the crime of being black.

Courtesy of USA Today:  

About 30 black students who were standing silently at the top of the bleachers at Donald Trump’s rally here Monday night were escorted out by Secret Service agents who said the presidential candidate had requested their removal before he began speaking. 

The sight of the students, who were visibly upset, being led outside by law enforcement officials created a stir at a university that was a whites-only campus until 1963. 

“We didn’t plan to do anything,” said a tearful Tahjila Davis, a 19-year-old mass media major, who was among the Valdosta State University students who was removed. “They said, 'This is Trump’s property; it’s a private event.' But I paid my tuition to be here.”

Of course the Trump campaign denies that this was their doing, but seriously who do they think they're fooling?

This is the atmosphere created and nurtured by Trump, his campaign, and his supporters.

Remember this is the guy who declared that he would like to punch a protester being escorted out "in the face." A guy who has said publicly that when he is President he would like to relax the libel laws so that he could sue journalists. And a guy who fans the flames of Islamophobia, Xenophobia, and Racism at virtually every one of this rallies.

The other day there were commenters who were angry at me for suggesting that Trump was to blame for the fact that a member of his Secret Service detail choked a Time magazine photographer.

Of COURSE it's Trump's fault.

This is the atmosphere that he is creating, and this is the result of being exposed to it over and over. (Just check out this uber creepy announcement that is broadcast before his appearances.)

I am sure that the Secret Service agent is probably a highly trained professional, who typically would never even consider slamming a man to the ground by his throat.

But hang around Trump rallies long enough and there is no telling what actions might seem reasonable.

And folks what do we think happens if he actually gets the nomination?

Found on Reddit.

I think that pretty much sums it up.

Muslim sixth grade girl attacked while assailants call her "ISIS."

Courtesy of Yahoo News:  

A Muslim girl was attacked at her New York middle school by three schoolmates who referred to the girl as a terrorist organization and tried ripping off her religious garb, INSIDE EDITION has learned. 

The sixth grade girl, whose identity IE is withholding, was playing during recess when three boys allegedly went after her on November 19 at P.S. 89 in the Bronx, a school source who spoke on the condition of anonymity told IE. 

The boys, who are in the same grade as the girl, allegedly put her in a headlock and punched her as they tried to take off her hijab, the source said. 

While beating up the girl, the boys also allegedly called her "ISIS," the source said.

Gee, I can't imagine what kind of things in the news these days might inspire such anti-Islamic hatred. 

Hang on, it'll come to me.

President Obama speaks out against anti-gay policies in Kenya.

Courtesy of the Obama Diary.

Courtesy of CNN:  

President Barack Obama on Saturday lectured Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta about his country's gay rights record. 

"When you start treating people differently not because of any harm they are doing to anybody, but because they are different, that's the path whereby freedoms begin to erode," Obama said at a joint press conference with the Kenyan leader in Nairobi. "And bad things happen." 

Under Kenyan law, sexual activity between men is illegal and punishable with a maximum imprisonment of 14 years. Many Kenyan leaders had encouraged Obama not to discuss gay rights on his first trip to the country as President. 

But Obama equated legalized discrimination of gays to legalized racism in America. 

"And when a government gets in a habit of people treating people differently, those habits can spread," Obama continued. "As an African-American, I am painfully aware of what happens when people are treated differently under the law."

The president of Kenya did not exactly welcome these remarks, saying in effect  "It is very difficult for us to be able to impose on people that which they themselves do not accept."

However the fact is that President Obama undoubtedly feels a great deal of responsibility for the anti-LGBT sentiment in the continent since much of it is due to American evangelicals coming over and spreading their hatred among the people of Africa.

The President also visited with some of his family members while in Kenya which will quite likely start a whole new round of "Obama was born in Africa" conspiracy talk among conservatives.

By the way here is President Obama doing a little dancing in Nairobi.

And for those who doubted President @barackobama 's step - the #LipalaDance #SuraYangu is his new favorite Kenyan dance! Thanks @ukenyatta and First Lady Kenyatta for joining in the dance! Our performance at State House is Everything!!! @fancy_fingers @iamchimano @fancy_fingers @bienaimesol #ObamainKenya #ObamaReturns Tag the world!!!

A video posted by BEST GROUP NOMINEE 2015 MAMAs (@sautisol) on Jul 25, 2015 at 12:00pm PDT

Damn I am going to miss this man!

Guess who's now considered a terrorist in Saudi Arabia. That's right, me.

Courtesy of Human Rights Watch:  

Saudi Arabia’s new terrorism law and a series of related royal decrees create a legal framework that appears to criminalize virtually all dissident thought or expression as terrorism. The sweeping provisions in the measures, all issued since January 2014, threaten to close down altogether Saudi Arabia’s already extremely restricted space for free expression. 

“Saudi authorities have never tolerated criticism of their policies, but these recent laws and regulations turn almost any critical expression or independent association into crimes of terrorism,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “These regulations dash any hope that King Abdullah intends to open a space for peaceful dissent or independent groups.”

And just how sweeping are these provisions?

This sweeping:

Article 1: “Calling for atheist thought in any form, or calling into question the fundamentals of the Islamic religion on which this country is based.”

That's right. Simply believing that there is no God, and mentioning that, is now considered an offense and is dealt with in the same way as a guy who opens fire on a busload of school children.

And we buy our oil from these people!

Should I even mention that there are religious fundamentalists in this country who would gladly impose similar laws if they thought there was a chance they might be able to get it?

Because there are.

Sure Christians and Muslims THINK they are a persecuted group, but we Atheists know who are the real victims of discrimination.

Fred Phelps, founder of the "God Hates Fags" Westboro Church is reported to be dying.

Courtesy of The Friendly Atheist:  

I just got off the phone with Nate and he confirmed what he had written. The rumors had been flying for several weeks, he said, but after a conversation with some of his fellow “excommunicated” family members, he found out that the rumors were true. He elaborated on that final line, too, saying that the Phelps family is now blocking anyone who is no longer with the church from seeing him, including Fred’s sons, daughters, nieces, and nephews. 

Why was he kicked out of his own church? Did he have a change of heart near the end of his life? There’s no definitive answer to that and Nate has heard different things (so any explanation is pure speculation right now). 

In any case, it appears that Fred Phelps doesn’t have much longer to live. While some may rejoice at that, Nate’s tone over the phone was anything but happy. He’s losing his father. A father who dedicated his life to spreading hatred and made the lives of so many others so miserable, but a father nonetheless.

You know I try to have compassion for everybody (Yes, even Sarah Palin), but in this case I am going to fail in that endeavor.

There is literally NOTHING about this man which is redeemable. He spread more hatred and ignorance in his lifetime than almost any other person I can think of.

I am also interested in why he was excommunicated, and the cynical part of me thinks it might have been his plan all along to quit the church, ask for forgiveness, and then receive that great Christian get out of hell free card from Jesus.

Whatever the answer, it is impossible not to believe that this world will be at least a slightly better place without Fred Phelps walking around among us.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Mary Lambert & Madonna performing "Same Love" at The Grammy's last night while Queen Latifah officiates at the marriage for 33 gay and straight couples. The future is here my friends.

I have to take a moment after watching that to dry my eyes.

My daughter burst into my room last night to tell me I needed to see this, and then we watched together while her face broke into the biggest smile I have seen in months.

"This is big Dad. Having this happen at the Grammy's is going to help change people's minds."

I love my little girl, and I so want her to be right, but alas some minds are beyond the reach of love and progress.

This is what Sarah Palin's favorite Fox News contributor tweeted last night after this amazing event.

Just about says it all, don't you think?

This is video that some religious and anti-gay rights folks are showing around to demonstrate that the LGBT community is violent and a danger to society.

Now personally I simply cannot defend the actions of that shirtless guy who sucker punched that "preacher," nor do I defend those that joined in the melee. (The reference by the reporter to "pack mentality" seems to be a reasonable explanation for why a peaceful group of demonstrators would suddenly turn violent.)

However, and I am NOT making any excuses for the violence, but I also think that purposefully showing up at an event full of people who are finally feeling accepted by their fellow citizens, with signs that tell them they are going to hell, is an incredibly provocative and hateful thing to do.

So on the one hand I can totally understand the emotion that one might feel toward those "loving" Christian preachers, but as I said I cannot condone the violent response.

Of course as you can imagine the Right Wing is thrilled to have this example to prove their point.

I think it is worth noting that it is an incredibly rare occurrence for gays, and their supporters, to be the perpetrators of violence, rather than then the victims of violence.

Imagine a World Without Hate.

It takes a moment to recognize the brilliance of this video, but once you do it hits right in the feels.

I think it was seeing Matthew Shepard that caused the catch in my throat.

Someday.

My friend Geoffrey Dunn believes that Sarah Palin's attack on Karl Rove at CPAC is personal.

Geoffrey wrote this earlier over at HuffPo concerning Palin's not so veiled reference to Karl Rove as the "architect "of the Republican's most recent failed campaigns:

According to my sources in south-central Alaska with direct links to the Palin family, Palin now has a personal vendetta against Rove. She blames Rove not only for her rather unceremonious departure from Fox News, but for her embarrassing bid for the presidency in 2012. In a widely cited interview in 2010 with Great Britain's Daily Telegraph, Rove suggested that Palin lacked the level of "gravitas" required to hold national office. It was a stinging rebuke of Palin aimed at GOP powerbrokers. 

Nobody holds a grudge like Sarah Palin. Her memoir, Going Rogue, is a handbook on personal vengeance. She's not going to let it go. 

Indeed, Palin kept gnawing the same old bone at CPAC, winding her way back to a constant meme. And as she did, she ramped up her attack. "Now is time to furlough the consultants and tune out the pollsters," she admonished. "If we truly know what we believe, we don't need professionals [read Rove] to tell us." 

Palin was there to stick the knife in Rove's "political bubble," as she dubbed it. "The last thing we need," she proclaimed, "is Washington, D.C., vetting our candidates." 

And just so there was no mistaking who she was talking about, Palin snidely invoked George W. Bush's nickname for the Texas-based strategist -- "The Architect" -- taunting Rove and his associates to "head on back to the great Lone Star State" and to "buck up and run" for office. "I hope they give themselves a discount on their consulting services," she intoned derisively, the cynicism dripping from her lips. 

Palin delighted in attacking Rove at the pocketbook. It's her favorite target -- because it's how she herself calculates her own worth. "Get over yourself," she bellowed, with an emphasis on the singular. "It's not about you." 

It was classic Palin. Only this time around, her appearance at CPAC served to remind Americans from across the political spectrum just how far Palin has fallen. She is a sad and emaciated caricature of the once-bright star that emerged on the Republican political horizon in the summer of 2008. She's more vapid, more shallow, more narcissistic, more bitter, more insignificant, more delusional, and, almost impossibly, more mean spirited than ever before. 

What a difference half-of-a-decade makes.

Of course Geoffrey is right, there may be NOBODY on earth who holds a grudge like Sarah Palin. And if Palin truly does blame Rove for her departure from Fox (Though we have evidence that Roger Ailes soured on her well before Rove spoke out against her,) then it does not appear that this will go away anytime soon.

In fact at this point it seems that all she has left to sustain her is her hatred, and spitefulness toward others. However, considering how wasted away she looked at the convention, it appears that may NOT be enough to keep her going indefinitely.

Geoffrey had much more of interest in this post, so go ahead and click the link at the top to read the rest.

Despite great improvement in overall attitudes, hatred toward gays and lesbians still alive and well.

Courtesy of the Dallas Voice:  

A lesbian from Seagoville was recovering this week after suffering a dislocated jaw when she was brutally attacked in an apparent anti-gay hate crime at a Mesquite playground. 

The suspect yelled gay epithets while he beat Sondra Scarber after she tried to defend her 4-year-old son from bullying at the hands of the suspect’s children. After knocking Scarber to the ground, the suspect kicked her in the mouth and stomped her face. She would later need surgery on her jaw, which had been knocked an inch-and-a-half out of alignment. 

The assault happened Feb. 17 at the Seabourn Elementary School playground, where Scarber and her partner Hillary Causey had taken their son to play. 

A 10-year-old began pushing their son around so Scarber told the boy to stop. That’s when the boy’s younger sister went to the car to get their father. Causey said she expected the father to tell his son not to pick on a 4-year-old but as he got closer, she could see his anger. At first, he thought Scarber was a man. 

When he realized she was woman, he said, “Oh, it’s a bitch. It’s a bitch,” according to Causey. “You’re a woman, but you think you’re a man.” 

He called her a dyke and a faggot, holding her up by her necklace and repeatedly hitting her in the face until he knocked her out. 

“I’m going to beat you like a man,” he said. 

Causey said a woman who was with the suspect tried to stop him but he pushed her away. He dropped Scarber to the ground and kicked her in the mouth, detaching her jaw on the right side. Scarber said as she was trying to regain consciousness, she saw his foot come down on her face. 

She said her son was standing there watching. 

“Please don’t kill her,” she said he pleaded.

You know as the father of a gay daughter, this is the kind of thing that terrifies me. 

This level of hatred is almost incomprehensible, and yet there are still so many who feel justified in treating gays and lesbians like depositories for all of the hate and anger they feel inside.

I have little doubt that this POS feels that he is a Christian, and probably believes the Bible justifies this kind of behavior toward another human being. Hopefully, after witnessing this, his hatefulness will not be passed on to this children.

All I can say is that I am not a Bible believing Christian, but his behaviors would certainly make me feel justified to respond with a little "eye for an eye."

Group of parents and students band together to hold separate prom, because their high school refuses to ban gay students from attending the offical one. Update!

More courtesy of Time Magazine: 

A group of students and parents at Sullivan High School in Sullivan, Ind., have banded together to push for a “traditional” prom that would prohibit their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered classmates from attending. 

The group met on Sunday at the town’s First Christian Church to discuss the possibility of holding a separate, segregated dance after the principal of Sullivan High, David Springer, told a local NBC affiliate that “Anybody can go to the prom” when asked to clarify whether same-sex couples would be allowed to walk in the event’s grand march, set to be held April 27. 

You know nothing represents the teachings of Jesus Christ more than holding an event for the SOLE purpose of excluding a group of people that you don't like. Don't you think?

And that Special Education teacher, Diana Medley, saying that she does not think that gay people have "any sort of purpose," and  lumping them together with special needs students, represents a particularly disgusting form of prejudice that should justify pulling her out of the classroom and keeping her far away from students who might look to her for guidance while dealing with their problems.

"Do you think (gays) have a purpose in life?": 

"'No I honestly don't. Sorry, but I don't. I don't understand it. A gay person isn't going to come up and make some change unless it's to realize that it was a choice and they're choosing God." 

Oh yeah, I want HER teaching my children!

Update: Late yesterday this story had started to go viral, and as you can imagine the response has been quite quite aggressive.

Is it just me or was it more comforting in black and white?

You know the type of progress is always evolving but the ignorance that fights against stays tragically the same.

"It is against Biblical teaching!"

"It is Un-American!"

"It threatens traditional marriage!"

Yep, heard it all before.

Is there really a MORE deserving choice for Time magazine's Person of the Year?

As you know every year Time chooses their person of the year.

There are a lot of really good choices this year such as Stephen Colbert (his work with those SuperPAC's was invaluable), Hillary Clinton (Duh!), and President Obama (Double duh!)

There also some, in my opinion, stupid choices. Such as Kim Jong Un (WTF?), Paul Ryan (Seriously?), and Karl Rove, (I just thew up in my mouth a little.)

However after much deliberation I think the choice should be clear.

This of course is Malala Yousafzai the incredibly brave little Pakistani girl who defied those attempting to suppress her desire to learn, and was ultimately shot in the face for her heroism.

Here is how Time magazine makes her case:

At first, the Pakistani girl blogged anonymously about her desire to go to school without fear in a part of the country where the Taliban had once imposed strict Shari'a law. Then, with the surprising encouragement of her devout Muslim father, Malala Yousafzai wrote in her own name and revealed her face to the world, a symbol of young women around the world seeking empowerment. She became the subject of a documentary and a celebrity of sorts in the world of nonprofit organizations. Who knew that such prominence would put her life at risk? On Oct. 9, 2012, Taliban gunmen boarded her school bus, sought her out and shot her in the head. Eventually airlifted to a hospital in Britain, she survived her severe wounds. In the meantime, Malala, now 15, has become an inspiration not only in her native Pakistan — where the culture wars over women's rights and religious diversity have taken many violent turns — but all around the globe. Malala is now a first name that hundreds of thousands of people know. But in a way, hers is an even more moving story, because the saga is not just of a brave young girl but also of a father willing to risk local opprobrium to raise his daughter — not a son — as a proud example for the world. It is among the tenderest of stories in the world of conservative Islam. 

Now this is only my opinion, and of course you are welcome to disagree, but personally I cannot think of a more deserving recipient of this honor. Nor can I think of a more profound message to send to those who felt they had the right to snuff out her life, and quiet her voice, simply because it did not agree with their fundamentalist from of religion. 

P.S. I lied really DO think there is a more profound message to send and that would be by honoring her with the Nobel Prize for Peace. And trust me I will be advocating for that as well.

"Would you like a side of homophobia with your chickenburger?"

Courtesy of The Washington Post:

“Guilty as charged” is how Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy answered questions about his restaurant chain’s support of traditional marriage earlier this week. 

That’s according to an interview published Monday in the Baptist Press, in which Cathy says his Atlanta-based company is “very much supporting of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit.” 

Cathy also said on Ken Coleman’s radio show in June that people advocating for same-sex marriage are “inviting God’s judgment on our nation.” 

“As it relates to society in general I think we’re inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake out fist at him and say, ‘We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage,’” Cathy said. “And I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to try to redefine what marriage is about.”

Well unfortunately we do not have a Chick-fil-a up here in Alaska for me to boycott, but  if there were you can bet they would not get another red cent from THIS supporter marriage equality. And hopefully there are others that will do what I am geographically unable to do.

What is it with these people, that THEY think their "GOD" is actually about to rain fire and destruction down on this whole country simply because two dudes want the right to officially tell the world of their commitment and love for one another?

And how petty would it be for the entity who supposedly created these individuals in HIS image to then punish the heterosexual people living on the same continent because they allowed these two individuals to become legally bound in matrimony? And is THAT an entity worthy of worship?

The idea is so ridiculous that I simply cannot believe that an individual intelligent enough to start such a successful business still labors under such cruel and terrible delusions. Yet clearly he does.

This kind of thing actually makes me ashamed of the stupidity demonstrated by my species. And the fact that these people use their religion and Biblical references in an effort to deflect criticism is even more disgusting to me. Especially when it works.

We have come so far, only to discover how much further we have yet to go.